A Sweet and Sticky Casserole of Duck with Turnips and Orange
As turnips do so well with orange, it is only a small step to use them with marmalade. Duck has this affinity too, so the three can come together successfully in a darkly sweet and rich casserole. Like duck à l’orange but sweeter and more suitable for a freezing winter’s day. The orange flavors here, from both fruit and bitter marmalade, should not dominate. The final flavor can be tweaked to your taste at the end with lemon juice or, better still, a bitter Seville orange. Rice, pure and white, would be my first choice of accompaniment. If you start this dish the day before, you will have a better chance of removing most of the fat that floats to the surface.
Recipe information
Yield
enough for 3
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Warm a very little oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot and lightly brown the duck in it, two or three pieces at a time. Drain them and set aside on paper towels. Cut the bacon into thick strips and add to the pan, letting them crisp lightly in the fat. Remove them and add to the duck. Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop the onions.
Step 2
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan, then add the onions and cook over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally. As the onions cook, peel the turnips, cut them into thick wedges, and add them to the pan. Cut the ginger into fine matchsticks, then add that too.
Step 3
Once the onions have well and truly softened and are starting to turn pale gold, add the stock, orange juice, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, a generous grinding of salt, and some black pepper. Bring almost to a boil.
Step 4
Return the duck pieces and bacon to the pan, decrease the heat to a slow simmer, and simmer for forty-five minutes to come slowly to tenderness.
Step 5
Check the duck. It should be soft, but far from falling from its bones. Put the pan to one side and let it cool (if possible, you should leave it overnight). Scoop off as much fat as you can and discard. There will be quite a bit of this, and some is integral to the richness of the stew, so don’t be too thorough about it. Just remove the excess.
Step 6
Bring the pan back up to a simmer. Stir in the marmalade, then correct the seasoning with salt, pepper, and the juice of the lemon (or Seville orange, if you have one). The flavors should be warm, sweetly spiced, and with a comforting hint of marmalade.
